MIAMI – LeBron James insisted he didn’t care about comments from Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka who questioned his defense. But then he twice used the term “stupid” referring to Ibaka and the comments.

Sure sounded like he cared.

“I don’t really care about what he says. For me as a defender, I just try to make plays,” James Tuesday today when asked about Ibaka’s contention the King’s defense on Kevin Durant was lacking. “When I’m on him, I’m just trying to make it tough on him to make shots which he’s going to make. I’m not sitting here saying I’m a Durant stopper. There’s no such thing. I’ve got to rely on my defense behind me to communicate with me. But I don’t really care what he says. It’s stupid.

“Everyone says something to me every series,” James continued. “You guys keep trying to get a quote from me.”

The “stupid” thing will work.

“I don’t really care what he says. He’s stupid,” James concluded.

What elicited all this was Ibaka being quoted in the “Palm Beach Post” talking about James’ defense.

“LeBron is not a good defender. He can play defense for two to three minutes but not 48 minutes,” Ibaka was quoted as saying. “LeBron can’t play (Durant) one-on-one. They’re playing good defense like a team.”

So, that could give LeBron a little more motivation.

“I don’t think LeBron needs any more motivation,” Dwyane Wade said.

Durant downplayed the matter, stressing Ibaka was just standing up for him.

“He believes in me and he believes in what we do here. He’s just sticking up for me and sticking up for the whole team,” Durant said. “LeBron’s a good defender. That’s all that matters. But it’s not about him. It’s about us and what we can do.”

Thunder coach Scott Brooks, who must have been just tickled to here this, said he’s never heard Ibaka say anything like that.

“I’ve talked to him many times and he’s never mentioned that at all to me. I do know this. just how we feel about LeBron: you can’t guard LeBron with one guy. You just can’t do it. The guy is so good, so strong, so explosive offensively,” Brooks said.

“And they probably feel the same way about Kevin. One guy is not going to be able to stop Kevin. He’s going to need a team behind his defender and we’re the same way. You have to have one guy guard LeBron but four guys making sure he doesn’t get any easy opportunities in the paint.”